Linda Darnell (1923-1965)

biography

Born Monetta Eloyse Darnell in Dallas, Texas, on October 16, 1923 (some sources cite 1921 as her year of birth), actress Linda Darnell came from a large family. Her mother, a typical stage mother, pushed the strikingly beautiful child into modeling in the early 1930s and largely ignored her other children. The money earned from modeling jobs went to help support the family. As Darnell began to mature, her mother prompted her to take an interest in local theater. At 15 but lying about her age, she entered and won a "Gateway to Hollywood" talent search and was offered a contract with RKO Studios, but when studio executives found that Darnell was younger than she claimed, they sent her back to Dallas. Nonetheless, she was almost immediately put under contract by 20th Century Fox, and she moved to Hollywood in early 1939. A year later, Fox gave Darnell a starring role in Star Dust (1940; with John Payne), which became the picture that defined her career. Often cast in film noir and westerns, her years at Fox were her best, with big films such as Blood and Sand (1941; with Tyrone Power) and Forever Amber (1947; with Cornel Wilde).

LEFT: Darnell in a 20th Century Fox photo from the mid 1940s. CENTER: With daughter Lola in the early 1950s. RIGHT: With third husband Merle "Robbie" Robertson around the time of their marriage in 1957

Against the wishes of Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, Darnell married Fox cameraman Peverell Marley, who was more than twice her age, in April 1943. The couple was unable to conceive, so they adopted daughter, Charlotte, whom Darnell nicknamed Lola, in January 1948 at the age of two weeks. After a rocky seven-year marriage during which Darnell became an alcoholic, she divorced Marley in 1951 after beginning an affair with producer and director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. After more than a dozen years at Fox and while earning as much as $250,000 per year, she was never able to repeat the success she had in Star Dust, although she had developed into a fine actress. In order to shed the high salaries paid to its stars, the studio canceled her contract in September 1952 following the release of the low-budget noir thriller Night Without Sleep (1952; with Gary Merrill). Afterward, her star began to fade rapidly although she was still in her twenties. She soon found herself in lower budgeted faire as RKO's Blackbeard, the Pirate (1952; with Keith Andes) and Republic's Dakota Incident (1956; with Dale Robertson). Needing money, she became the spokesperson for Rhinegold Beer in 1953 and appeared in print ads for the brewery. She married Rhinegold brewery owner Philip Liebmann in 1954, but the marriage dissolved in December 1955.

the films of linda darnell

Day-Time Wife (1939)

Linda Darnell stars with Tyrone Power in the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy Day-Time Wife. This was Darnell's second film

Rise and Shine (1941)

LEFT: With George Murphy in the 20th Century Fox comedy Rise and Shine. RIGHT: With Jack Oakie

Fallen Angel (1945)

With Dana Andrews in the 20th Century Fox film noir thriller Fallen Angel

My Darling Clementine (1946)

Forever Amber (1947)

LEFT: With John Russell in the 20th Century-Fox costume drama Forever Amber. RIGHT: Darnell and co-star Cornel Wilde found director Otto Preminger difficult to work with. The film went way over budget and lost a million dollars, a big sum in 1947

The Walls of Jericho (1948)

Darnell portrays the manipulative wife of Kirk Douglas who secretly desires Cornel Wilde in the 20th Century Fox drama The Walls of Jericho

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)

From the 20th Century Fox romantic comedy Unfaithfully Yours with Rex Harrison

Slattery's Hurricane (1949)

From the 20th Century Fox adventure Slattery's Hurricane with John Russell

No Way Out (1950)

From 20th Century Fox noir thriller No Way Out with Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier

The 13th Letter (1951)

From the 20th Century Fox noir thriller The 13th Letter with Michael Rennie

Blackbeard, the Pirate (1952)

Island of Desire (1952)

Darnell is stranded on a desert island with Tab Hunter in the romance Island of Desire

Night Without Sleep (1952)

With Gary Merrill in the 20th Century Fox noir thriller Night Without Sleep. This was Darnell's last film at Fox

This Is My Love (1954)

LEFT: With Hal Baylor and Dan Duryea in the RKO drama This Is My Love. RIGHT: With Faith Domergue

Dakota Incident (1956)

As Amy Clarke in the Republic western Dakota Incident

Zero Hour! (1957)

LEFT: From the Paramount nailbiter Zero Hour! with Geoffrey Toone and Dana Andrews. RIGHT: With Peggy King and Dana Andrews. This film served as the inspiration for the comedy Airplane! (1980)

Black Spurs (1965)

With producer A.C. Lyles on the set of the Paramount western Black Spurs, Darnell's last film

later years

Darnell married airline pilot Merle Robertson, her third husband, in March 1957. After production wrapped on the campy Paramount thriller Zero Hour! (1957; with Dana Andrews and Sterling Hayden), Darnell put her film career on hiatus, taking occasional roles on television, developing a nightclub act in which she sang and told jokes, and traveling the country doing live theater. However, her marriage disintegrated in 1962, with Darnell accusing Robertson of adultery with a little-known actress, and Robertson accusing his wife of being an alcoholic. While she was granted alimony through 1967, debts incurred during her marriages ate most of her assets, and financially she had fallen on hard times. She was attempting to revive her career and had gotten a starring role in the western Black Spurs (1965; with Rory Calhoun). Not long after production wrapped on the film, Darnell flew to Chicago to stay with her former secretary, Jeanne Curtis, while appearing in a stage production in the city. Darnell stayed up late one night to watch one of her old films, Star Dust (1940), and after retiring to bed, the house caught on fire. The actress suffered severe burns and passed away one day after being pulled out of the blaze on April 10, 1965, at the age of 41. She was survived by her daughter, Charlotte (aka Lola), her parents, two sisters, and a brother.